Defence Medal 1939-45, Lance-Corporal Margaret Emma Richards GM, Auxiliary Territorial Service
Circular campaign medal with, on the obverse (designed by Thomas Humphrey Paget), the head of King George VI and the inscription, 'GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP.'. On the reverse (designed by Harold Parker), the Royal Crown on an oak sapling, with lion and lioness supporters flanked by the dates, '1939' and '1945', above stylised waves and the medal name, 'The Defence Medal', within the exergue. The green ribbon has a central band of orange and two thin black stripes.
Margaret Richards of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was awarded the George Medal (GM) after she gave first aid to soldiers wounded in an ammunition depot explosion, despite the risk of further explosions.
Struck in cupro-nickel or silver, the Defence Medal 1939-45 was instituted in May 1945 and was more widely distributed than the 1939-45 Star. Its recipients included personnel who had served for at least three years in Britain during World War Two (1939-1945). The medal was awarded to non-operational service personnel and for certain civilian services, such as Civil Defence. Commonwealth and Colonial personnel in some services, deployed away from their homes, were also eligible. The ribbon colours are symbolic: the green refers to the green and pleasant land of England, the black stripes represent the blackout and the orange stripe represents the fire bombing of the Blitz.
NAM Accession Number
NAM. 1993-02-519-2
Acknowledgement
Donated by the Trustees of the WRAC Museum from the Corps Collection
Copyright/Ownership
National Army Museum, Out of Copyright
Location
National Army Museum, Study Collection
Object URL
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1993-02-519-2
Browse related themes